Hey, hop in!
I’ll fill you in while we’re on the road — I’m being pursued, and we’re jumping
back in time.
Quickly now!
Okay, we’re safe now.
I’ll tell you everything, but first I need you to learn a bit about the history of automobiles.
That’s important, and you’ll soon learn why.
Allright, we start at the veeery beginning, and we drive really slowly because otherwise
you won’t be able to take a good look.
See that apple tree over there?
And a person beneath it?
Let’s not bother him, because it’s Sir Isaac Newton.
Yes, the Sir Newton: it’s year 1687, when he published his works on the Three Laws of
Motion.
They were arguably the impulse engineers needed to start thinking about automobiles.
It took almost another century, though, before the magic happened.
Accelerating now… and here we are, in 1769.
I need to drop the speed again because we’re overtaking the first actual road vehicle in
history.
It was a steam-powered car invented by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot.
It was first intended for military purposes.
It had only three wheels and was more of a tractor than an actual car.
The steam engine took a large portion of its size, and weight too, for that matter.
Needless to say, it was a heavy vehicle, capable of moving at only 2.5 mph, but it was a breakthrough
nonetheless.
Many other prototypes followed, and among the more successful ones was an electric carriage
made by Robert Anderson in Scotland.
Which year was that?
Ah yes, 1839.
Hold on tight, we’re accelerating again!
Here it is.
A crude thing, but just think about it: this carriage is the first electric car in history!
Wait, is that Elon Musk there?
Oh, no, sorry.
Anyway, this thing moves not much faster than its steam-powered predecessor — its speed
is about 4 mph.
Move along, will you?
At the same time, look around: steam coaches are everywhere!
These are their last days, though, because in 1840 they’ll be banned in the UK.
They’re simply too heavy to be used on regular roads.
I’ll jump us to 1845 now, hold on… here we are — see?
A railroad is being built in the distance.
That’s the result of the steam car ban.
Now, the first proper car was invented in 1886, and there are two people sharing the
honor.
Let’s have a look…
Okay, we’re in Germany of that time.
See them?
On the left is a gas-powered automobile made by Karl Friedrich Benz.
It has three wheels, and it was never a serial car.
On the right is a more traditional four-wheeled vehicle made by Gottlieb Daimler, which was
not for sale either.
Both were experiments of talented engineers, and as you’ll see in a moment…
…they were quite successful.
We’ve just jumped to year 1891, and you can see lots of Peugeot cars around us.
All of them run on engines patented by Benz and Daimler, who built their initial capital
on selling those.
But if we just fast forward to 1901… we’ll see the first Mercedes cars designed by Wilhelm
Maybach — Daimler’s business partner.
By the way, take a better look around.
See?
There aren’t yet too many cars for a traffic jam, but lots of them already look identical.
These are Benz Velo — the first automobiles to be produced in large numbers and with similar
appearance.
Before them, every car was unique, and you can see it even now.
Now, let’s take a quick stroke across the US: here, in 1893, which is already before
our current time, brothers Charles and Frank Duryea assembled their first gas-powered car
and soon became the largest car manufacturers in the United States.
By now, that is, by 1901, they’ve sold dozens of expensive limousines… which you can hardly
see in the crowd of roofless carriages, all similar to each other.
These are Curved Dash Oldsmobiles — the first mass-produced cars in the USA.
Ransom Eli Olds invented the assembly line prototype and moved to Detroit to start his
enterprise.
His cars will be at the top of the automotive world for three more years.
But we’ll skip seven and go to 1908, because… …here’s where the real thing begins.
See that shape in front of us?
Rings a bell, doesn’t it?
That’s because it’s Model T — Henry Ford’s most famous mass-produced car, Tin
Lizzie.
Thanks to the state-of-the-art assembly lines, it takes only 93 minutes to assemble one Model
T. Wonder what happens to it in, say, 20 years?
Let’s see…
Here we go, 1927, and the road is packed with Lizzies!
By now, Ford has produced over 15 million of these cars, and improved them with every
passing year, making them more efficient and comfortable, while still affordable.
And black.
Oh, look, that’s my favorite: see that Model T going down the hill?
It’s actually going up, but in reverse.
The fuel is fed to the engine with the help of gravity, and the reverse gear gives more
power while on a slope.
Okay now, I think we’re stuck in this jam for quite a while.
How about we skip a decade or two, huh?
I’ll just press here and…
What year is this?
Ah, 1937, a decade, then.
Traffic jams are even more of a nuisance, but at least we’re not in one now.
Oh wow!
Look at that beauty!
It’s Duesenberg Model J — the most luxurious and powerful car of the first half of the
century!
Just imagine: its engine produced 265 horsepower, and a supercharged version reached 320!
Hey, it’s speeding away from us, let’s try and keep up!
I wonder who’s inside this Duesy, because only the wealthiest could afford one.
But it seems too fast even for me.
Awesome!
Alright then, let’s jump ahead once more and see what awaits us there.
It’s 1965, and car industry is booming.
What you see on either side from us are Fords, Chevrolets, Chryslers, and DeSotos.
There’s even one Edsel — a Ford-derived automobile that only lived for three years.
And, of course, plenty of Mustangs.
These babies survived everything, don’t you know — even in our time, they’re still
popular.
Pony cars, they’re called, and they gave birth to a whole slew of similar models by
various manufacturers.
Hopping again — didn’t expect it?
Hah!
That’s because we’re in the ‘70s, and it’s muscle cars galore.
I won’t tell you the exact year (‘cause I’m a rebel), but just look around ya — there’s
not a single smooth line in those cars, it’s pure testosterone.
They’re mean, they’re powerful, they’re awesome.
Ah well, as much as I want to stay, we have to jump forward.
It’s 1985, and I bet you know what I’m about to show you.
We’ll stop here and take that car waiting for us.
Hop off and follow me!
Yes, it’s a DeLorean DMC-12.
That legendary DeLorean.
I’m not saying any more.
And we’re about to make our next jump in it, and then — guess what?
— back to the future!
We’re now in the ‘90s, and it’s the era of global economic crisis.
Muscle cars are in the past now, and people need simpler, more affordable vehicles.
That’s why what you see from the window is, well, far from perfect.
Plastic headlights and fenders, simplest forms, everything to attract consumers who haven’t
got a penny to spare.
All the cars outside look pretty much identical because they basically are.
That’s a bit sad.
In 2000s, things grow even worse.
Just look at these guys — they look like submarines without a single straight line.
It’s the time of experiments, and not the best ones.
But gradually, everything came to…
The 2010s.
Almost our time.
Japan has dominated the field of car design, and everyone else started copying them.
Sharp angles are the thing, combined with smooth shapes of the body.
And here’s where I’m finally about to make the final jump and tell you all about
my pursuers.
Get ready.
Okay, 2019, and they’re right on my tail.
But as promised, here’s the story: look at the rear seats.
See the roll of paper?
That’s a hard copy of blueprints for a car of the future.
See how cars have changed?
They’re sleek, aerodynamic, and built for comfort.
This one, however, is something else.
Ready or not, we’re nearing a portal to the future.
Brace yourself, we’re jumping.
…now that was a hard ride!
Phew!
Let’s park somewhere, we’re safe now.
It’s year 2070, and cars are, well, different.
Get out of the car and see for yourself.
Beautiful, right?
More than half of them are flying, while others move on magnetic force.
Aerodynamic shapes are perfect now, and there are no more traffic jams.
Simply because there are no drivers.
Every car now adheres to the rules because humans are not allowed behind the wheel any
longer.
Manual override is only possible in case of emergency.
Alright, my mission is almost done.
I’ll just put this blueprint into the pneumatic tube here and… off it goes!
Now no one will learn its secrets before its time.
We made it.
Thank you.
If you’re done watching the city of the future, I’ll be happy to lift you back to
our time.
DeLorean, go!
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